Textile lubricants



America,

United States Patent 6 2,730,498 TEXTILE LUBRICANTS Fred 'Fortess,Summit,

town,

and Conrad Hohing, Jr., Morris- N. J., assignors to Celanese Corporationof New York, N; Y., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. ApplicationJanuary 9, 1952, Serial No. 265,724

1 Claim. (c1. zs2-s.s

This invention relates to textile lubricants and is particularlyconcerned with textile lubricants that are to be employed in the form ofaqueous emulsions.

An important object of this invention is to provide a novel textilelubricant in the form of a stable aqueous emulsion for the treatment oftextile materials having a basis of cellulose acetate or other organicderivative of cellulose, as well as textile materials having a basis ofregenerated cellulose and produced by the viscose process.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel textilelubricant in the form of a stable aqueous emulsion having presenttherein an emulsifying agent which is a polyoxyethylene ether of a longchain fatty alcohol or a polyoxyethylene ester of a long chain fattyacid.

- Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the followingdetailed description and claims.

A' lubricant formulation that has been found eminently suited for thelubrication of textile materials having a basis of cellulose acetate orother organic acid ester of cellulose as well as of textile materialshaving a basis of regenerated cellulose and produced by the viscoseprocess, comprises (A) a partial ester of phosphoric acid with a longchain fatty alcohol, (B) a condensation product of an alkylolamine and along chain fatty acid, (C) an alkylolamine or a tertiary amine and '(D)an alkylphenol, all blended into (E) mineral oil. This lubricantformulation is particularly well suited for the lubrication ofcontinuous filaments that are to be converted into fibers of staplelength since it provides adequate lubrication both for the continuousfilaments and the staple fibers formed therefrom. For certainapplications it has been founddesirable to apply the said lubricantformulation to the textile material in the form of an aqueous emulsion.To be satisfactory for commercial use, this aqueous emulsion should bestable and should retain its properties substantially unchanged forextended periods of time. it has, however, been found that aqueousemulsions formed from said lubricant formulation tend to break down inrelatively'short periods of time even when the said emulsions containrelatively large quantities of many types of emulsifying agents. 7

According to the present invention, a lubricant composition is preparedby adding to the lubricant formulation described above (F) anemulsifying agent which may 'be either a polyoxyethylene ether of a longchain fatty alcohol or a polyoxyethylene ester of a long chain fattyacid. The lubricant compositions so formed are not only stablethemselves, but the said lubricant compositions may be emulsified inwater to form stable emulsions which will retain their propertiessubstantially unchanged for extended periods of time. In addition, theaqueous emulsions formed from these lubricant compositions aretransparent or translucent in contrast to the usual opaqueness ofemulsions of oily materials in Water and may, ac-

cordingly, be applied to the textile materials with a higher degree ofuniformity. The action of the emulsifying agents listed above inproducing a stable aqueous emulsion of the lubricant composition isunique in that many 2,730,498 Patented Jan. 10, 1956 ice other types ofemulsifying agents are ineffective for this purpose. Among theemulsifying agents that will not produce a stable aqueous emulsion ofthe lubricant composition are sorbitan mono-oleate, sorbitan trioleate,tertiary amines (Ethomeen), fatty alkylol amine condensate (Alrosol),aromatic polyglycol ethers (Antarox), the polyoxyethylene ester of octylphenol and polyethylene glycol mercaptan.

The long chain fatty alcohols and long chain fatty acids from which maybe prepared the emulsifying agents that are to be used in the stableaqueous emulsion of this invention may contain from about 12 to 18carbon atoms in their alkyl chains and these chains may be straight orbranched. The long chain fatty acids and the long chain fatty alcoholsmay be commercially pure single compounds or mixtures of such singlecompounds of one type, i. e. acids or alcohols, or they may be mixturesthat are obtained from naturally occurring products. Suitable long chainfatty alcohols are, for example, oleyl alcohol, lauryl alcohol and themixture of alcohols derived from sperm oil. Suitable long chain fattyacids are, for example, lauric acid, oleic acid and the mixture of acidspolyethylene glycol.

obtained from cocoanut oil. In producing the polyethylene oxide ethersand esters, ethylene oxide may be permitted to act directly on the longchain fatty alcohols and long chain fatty acids. Alternatively, the longchain fatty acids and long chain fatty alcohols may be reacted with a Inthe latter case, care should be taken to remove any unreacted glycolfrom the final product, as, for example, by washing the same with brineor the like. The length of the polyethylene oxide chain satisfactorywith chain lengths of from about 2 to 10 ethylene oxide units.

The partial ester of phosphoric acid and a long chain fatty alcohol inthe lubricant composition may be prepared from a fatty alcohol ormixture of fatty alcohols containing between about 8 and 18 carbon atomsin their alkyl chains. Suitable fatty alcohols for this purpose include,for example, oleyl alcohol, lauryl alcohol, n-octyl alcohol, nonylalcohol, decyl alcohol and undecyl alcohol. The amount of long chainfatty alcohol employed should be suilicient to introduce on the averagefrom about 1 to 2 ester groups into the phosphoric acid. Advantageously,in producing the partial ester of phosphoric acid and a long chain fattyalcohol, there is employed the process described in Fortess et al.,application S. No. 182,614, filed August 31, 1950, now Patent No.2,676,975. According to that process, a solid, ester-forming, phosphorusacid derivative, such as phosphorus pentoxide, phosphorus tetroxide orphosphorus pentachloride, is dispersed in an inert diluent, which ispreferably all or a part of the mineral oil to be incorporated into thelubricant composition, and the long chain fatty alcohol is mixed withthe said dispersion. The partial ester of phosphoric acid and a longchain fatty alcohol may be present in the lubricant composition inamounts ranging from about 10 to 35% by weight.

In forming the condensation product of alkylolamines and long chainfatty acids present in the lubricant composition there may be employedlong chain fatty acids containing from about 10 to 18 carbon atoms intheir alkyl chains. Alkylolamines with which these long chain fattyacids may be reacted include, for example, triethanolamine,diethanolamine, monoethanolamine, tri-isopropanolamine andZ-amino-Z-methyl-l-propanol. When using a tri-alkanolarnine, e. g.triethanolamine, the carboxyl group of the long chain fatty acid reactswith the hydroxyl group of the alkanolamine, splitting off water andforming the ester of the long chain fatty acid. When di-alkanol aminessuch as diethanolamine or mono-alkanolamines such as monoethanolamineare used the products appear to be amides formed by the reaction of thecarboxyl group of the long chain fatty acid with the free hydrogen onthe amino groups, again with splitting oil of Water. When commercialgrades of a tri-alkanolamine are used, there are usually present thereinsmall proportions of monoand di-alkanolamines, leading to both ester andamide formation. The condensation product of the alkanolamine and thelong chain fatty acid may be present in the lubricant composition inamounts ranging from about to 25% by weight.

Alkylolamines and tertiary amines that are suitable for use as component(C) of the lubricant composition above mentioned, include, for example,triethanolamine, dibutylethanolamine, diethanolamine, triisopropanolamine, Z-amino 2 methyl-l-propanol, diethyl-cyclohexylamine,dimethyl-cyclohexylarnine, methyl dicyclohexylarnine and diethylbenzylamine. The alkylolamine or tertiary amine may be present in thelubricant composition in amounts ranging from about 3 to 25% by Weight.

Suitable alkyl phenols that may be employed in the lubricant compositioninclude, for example, 2-4-di-tertiary amyl phenol and 2,4,6-tri-tertiaryamyl phenol, di-tertiarybutyl-m-cresol and 2,4-disecondary amyl phenol.The alkyl phenols may be present in the lubricant composition in amountsranging from about 1 to 5% by Weight.

The mineral oil which is component (E) of the lubricant composition maybe present in said composition in amounts ranging from about 30 to 65%by weight.

Suitable emulsifying agents that are suitable for use as component (F)of the lubricant composition include, for example, the polyethyleneoxide ether of sperm oil alcohols having an average of 2.5 ethyleneoxide units in the ether chain, the polyethylene oxide ester of lauricacid prepared by esterifying lauric acid with a polyethylene glycolhaving an average molecular Weight of 300 followed by washing with brineto remove the unreacted glycol, the polyethylene oxide ester of oleicacid prepared in the same manner, and the polyethylene oxide ester ofcocoanut oil acids also prepared in the same manner. The emulsifyingagent may be present in amounts ranging from about 5 to 25% by weight,based on the total weight of the lubricant composition.

The lubricant composition may be prepared by blending into the mineraloil-phosphoric acid partial ester, with stirring, the condensationproduct of the alkylolamine and long chain fatty acid, followed by theaddition of the alkylolamine or tertiary amine, the alkyl phenol and theemulsifying agent. Stirring is continued until a smooth, homogeneousblend is obtained. The lubricant composition prepared in this manner maythen be dispersed in water by mixing the same with the desired amount ofwater. The lubricant composition may be present in the aqueous emulsionin amounts ranging from about 1 to 25% by weight. The emulsifying agentis added to the lubricant composition rather than to the Water employedin forming the emulsion not oniy to assist in producing a stablelubricant composition, but also because it has been found that theemulsifying agent does not operate as effectively when it is added tothe water before the rest of the components in the lubricant compositionare added thereto.

The following examples are given to illustrate this invention further.

Example I A lubricant composition is prepared by blending together 32.5parts by weight of a white mineral oil having a S. U. V. of 50 to F. andcontaining 32.5 parts by weight of the partial ester of decyl alcoholwith phosphoric acid, 21 parts by weight of dibutylethanolamine, 7 partsby weight of the condensation product of triethanolamine and cocoanutoil fatty acids, 1 part by weight of diamyl phenol and 6 parts by weightof the ester of oleic acid with a polyethylene glycol having an averagemolecular weight of 306. This lubricant composition is then emulsifiedin 405; parts by weight of water. There is obtained a clear, transparentemulsion which is stable and retains its properties substantiallyunchanged for extended periods of time. This emulsion is eminentlysuited for the lubrication of a tow of cellulose acetate filaments thatare to be converted into fibers of staple length.

Example 11 A lubricant composition is prepared by blending together amixture of 15 parts by weight of a white mineral oil having a S. U. V.of 50 at 100 F. and 15 parts by weight of the partial ester of decylalcohol with phosphoric acid, with 24 parts by weight of white mineraloil having a S. U. V. of 50 at 100 F., 3.5 parts by weight oftriethanolamine, 20 parts by weight of the condensation product oftriethanol amine and cocoanut oil fatty acids, 2.5 parts by weight ofdiamyl phenol and 20 parts by weight of the ester of lauric acid with apolyethylene glycol having an average molecular weight of 300. Thecomposition is then emulsified in 400 parts by weight of water. There isobtained a homogeneous stable translucent emulsion eminently suited forthe lubrication of a tow of cellulose acetate filaments that are to beconverted into fibers of staple length.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is givenmerely by way of illustration and that many variations may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention, what we desire to secure by LettersPatent is:

A textile lubricant comprising an aqueous emulsion containing 400 partsby weight of water and a lubricant composition containing (A) 15 partsby weight of the partial ester of phosphoric acid with decyl alcohol,(B) 20 parts by weight of the condensation product of triethanolamineand cocoanut oil fatty acids, (C) 3.5 parts by weight oftriethanolamine, (D) 2.5 parts by weight of diamyl phenol, (E) 39 partsby weight of mineral oil, and (F) 20 parts by weight of the polyethyleneoxide ester of lauric acid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

